MICHAEL & HEATHER COLLETTO

Dear friends and family,

This time last year, we had just suddenly returned from Thailand six months earlier than planned. We were confused, jet-lagged, homesick for Thailand, and all around freezing our tails off. So, the 2010 Christmas letter didn’t happen. Let’s start off this one with a recap for the history books!

We visited Thailand in Jan. 2010 with The SOLD Project to learn about preventing child exploitation; we fell in love with the work and were thrilled to accept communications jobs with SOLD. To raise financial support, we road-tripped for three months from Grand Rapids to LA to Philadelphia (8,000+ miles in a Honda Civic!). Thailand was amazing. For lots of gushing about our love for the country, the Thai people, and our work with The SOLD Project, browse our 2010 blog archives. But, a few months after moving to Thailand, Heather severely herniated a disc and required surgery in Bangkok and (long story short) we had to move back to the U.S.

When we returned to the U.S. last December, “the plan” was to settle in Philadelphia. We lived with family for six months while Heather looked for work, before eventually deciding to move back to Grand Rapids. We’re pleased with our decision. We’re actually just a couple houses down from our old apartment! It’s a short walk to downtown, and we live a few blocks away from Heather’s brother. Our upstairs neighbors seem nice, but sometimes we think they stomp around like cave trolls at 5 a.m. just to mess with us. Mozno (our mustachioed cat) is back with us, adorable as ever and dealing with full-on abandonment issues (we think it’s related to driving him 16 hours across the country and leaving him with Heather’s parents for a year), so he poops on the couch if we leave for a weekend. We’re working on it.

Michael loves working for The SOLD Project as the Communications Director. He works from home as champion of SOLD’s messaging and brand—writing emails, designing online and print materials, managing social media and developing strategic partnerships—all to help ensure that the kids we serve in Thailand have the resources they need to avoid exploitation. Heather is an admissions counselor at nearby Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, which helps pay the bills and brings more enjoyment than she anticipated. She still works part-time with SOLD, too, writing for the blog (thesoldproject.com/blog) and doing donor relations work. We’re planning a return visit to Thailand next year. Anyone want to join us?

We love our community of friends in Grand Rapids and we love being back at our church. We’re in a small group of other couples that we’re getting to know, and we’re starting to make friends who are younger and have been married less time than us, which is weird!

We traveled to Maine this summer to visit Mike’s grandparents at their summer home (our first trip up since we’ve been married), and Heather ate her first lobster (mmmm!). We went to the opening night double feature of the final Harry Potter movie and waited for five hours in the wrong line. We read “The Hunger Games” trilogy and you should, too. (Seriously. So addicting.) We hosted Mike’s parents, Heather’s sister, and some friends for a visit here in GR, and look forward to hosting you (yes, you) whenever you choose to visit. We make Thai curry for dinner at least twice a week. That is not an exaggeration.

Much love,

Michael & Heather Colletto

Posted by: collettostories Category: Uncategorized Tags: 2010, 2011, Colletto Christmas Letter, Grand Rapids, Thailand, The SOLD Project